retrace
Americanverb (used with object)
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to trace backward; go back over.
to retrace one's steps.
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to go back over with the memory.
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to go over again with the sight or attention.
verb
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to go back over (one's steps, a route, etc) again
we retraced the route we took last summer
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to go over (a past event) in the mind; recall
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to go over (a story, account, etc) from the beginning
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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retracesimple
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retracessimple
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have retracedperfect
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has retracedperfect
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am retracingprogressive
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are retracingprogressive
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is retracingprogressive
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have been retracingperfect progressive
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has been retracingperfect progressive
Past
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retracedsimple
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had retracedperfect
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was retracingprogressive
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were retracingprogressive
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had been retracingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of retrace
1690–1700; < French retracer, Middle French retracier, equivalent to re- re- + tracier to trace 1
Explanation
To retrace is to walk the same path again, or to follow a path someone else has taken. You could visit the town your ancestors came from and attempt to retrace their steps there. When you lose your glasses, some helpful person may ask you, "Did you retrace your steps?" What they're suggesting is that you walk everywhere you went earlier, checking as you go to see if you left them on a table or desk nearby. A detective will also retrace someone's steps to solve a crime, looking for clues while walking where the suspect walked. Trace means "outline," but also "follow a line or a path."
Vocabulary lists containing retrace
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“If the current leaders begin to consolidate or retrace, stronger participation from the broader market will likely be necessary to prevent the index from losing momentum.”
From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026
In other words, it’s reasonable to feel relief once crude oil prices retrace their journey back to where they were before the Iran war began.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
With Ukrainian airspace closed because of the war with Russia, they will then retrace their steps to Poland and fly to London for next week's second leg.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
But there’s a limit to how many similar instances, all with the same structure, the film can retrace before it gives way to monotony.
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2026
After a moment longer, he began to retrace his steps, keeping close to the bushes, until he came to the broken wire fence at the entrance to the allotment.
From "I'm the King of the Castle" by Susan Hill
Documentarian Geeta Gandbhir retraces this slow-moving tragedy through the body camera footage of the exasperated officers who know that the caller, not the children, is the problem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2026
Running until March 8, the exhibit retraces the journeys made by the researcher, who died in 2003.
From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026
OTTAWA—Retailers in Canada saw a jump in sales in November that retraces weak trade in recent months, hinting at a recovery in household consumption heading into the important holiday season.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
The Documentary: Victoria Uwonkunda retraces her journey to escape Rwanda's genocide 30 years and meets victims and perpetrators of the violence finding a way to reconcile and forgive.
From BBC ● Apr. 5, 2024
He pivots, retraces their steps, climbs an alley, then turns around.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Following Friday’s bounce, stocks are set to open lower while oil prices have retraced some of their losses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
He points out that energy stocks have “virtually retraced their wartime gains,” and adds that “even the bond market is back on an even keel after yesterday’s rally.”
From Barron's ● Apr. 15, 2026
Yet another future president might have retraced a path toward more balanced economic or security policies once the disadvantages of trade wars or diplomatic and military isolation became obvious.
From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2026
The stock has now retraced about 40% of the rally from the two-year closing low of $65.61 hit on Nov. 24 to the one-year closing high of $129.85 on Jan. 8.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 12, 2026
Early one morning, I took Otto and my mother and Clement and retraced the path I’d taken after leaving.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
Little by little, through her childish chatter retracing her arrival in Denmark and some research done in South Korea, Randel uncovered a different story from the one in her Danish adoption papers.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
Yields were little changed after retracing early increases triggered by fears inflation could run high for months —and even drive the Fed to hike rates down the road.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
After his journey retracing his life off-grid, he decided to send his mother a text message.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
At City Hall, both supporters and critics of Bass have been retracing recent events, looking for clues as to how things went wrong.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2026
For the better part of the day, I groped blindly through the labyrinth in the whiteout, retracing my steps from one dead end to another.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
